Effect Of Laughter Therapy On Stress In The Eldery

Abstract

Background: There are several physical and psychological symptoms that are caused by a variety of changes and occur in the elderly, one of which is stress. Elderly people who are stressed out need to be handled with special attention. In addition, due to its perceived ease of use and low cost, laughter therapy is a preferred non-pharmacological treatment that has proven to be significantly beneficial in reducing stress levels. Research Objective: To determine the effect of laughter therapy on the behavioral emergency of stress in the elderly at an elderly social institution. Research Methods: This study was conducted using a quasi-experimental design. The sample in this study consisted of 38 respondents. The instruments used in this study were the DASS (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale) questionnaire and the Laughter Therapy SOP. The data analysis process used the t-test. Results: The results of the paired sample t-test showed a significant difference between the pre- and post-test values, with a significance value (2-tailed) of p = 0.000, <0.05. In this study, H0 was rejected and Ha was accepted, indicating that there was a significant difference between the stress scores before and after the intervention was given. Conclusion: The findings of this study are expected to provide input for stakeholders so that they can be implemented in a programmatic manner to prevent further negative effects of stress and develop resilient and independent elderly people.